Obama No Lesser Evil: PL’ers Expose Dems’ Attacks on CUNY

NEW YORK CITY — Evil, yes; lesser, no. That was the point PL’ers  and friends made about Barack Obama at a recent discussion in the Professional Staff Congress (PSC). The PSC is a local of City University of New York (CUNY) professors and staff within the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). After a delegate in our local proposed a resolution to criticize the AFT’s endorsement of Obama, we took the opportunity to explain that all politicians under capitalism, regardless of their appearance or label, are the capitalists’ servants. 

 The first order of business was a discussion about the recent attack led by Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor, on the wages and pensions of New York State’s public workers.

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Protest Trayvon’s Murder: ‘Tear down whole damn system!’

WASHINGTON, DC, April 9 — “Racist murder — tear it down! The prison system — tear it down! The justice system — tear it down! THE WHOLE DAMN SYSTEM — tear it down!”

These chants echoed from Howard University students marching through the community to join over 300 anti-racist marchers protesting the racist murder of Trayvon Martin. It followed two weeks of organizing that began on March 24 when over 2,000 people mobilized in response to a social networking call for action from three Georgetown University students, assembling in front of the District Building that houses the corrupt City Council.

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Worker-Student Alliance Mobilizes vs. Cuts, Union Hacks

Workers and students on our campus had not shared each other’s problems in a long while, but on the Day of Action against cuts to public education this would change. 

“Hi everybody,” began one worker. “My co-workers and I are here to begin organizing with students. We face the same enemies. The university bosses who raise your tuition attack us too. Our contract is almost up and we have zero faith in the union’s leadership. Worker-student organizing has succeeded in the past and it can work again.”

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The Real Scandal: Racist School Bosses’ Cuts Abuse Workers, Students

LOS ANGELES, April 7 —The continuing scandal at Miramonte Elementary School shows the systemic racism within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Two teachers were arrested in late January and early February for child sexual abuse, the district reacted by removing the entire faculty and staff from the campus.

The administration of Miramonte had ignored the complaints of parents and students about the abusive teachers for years. Their refusal to listen to immigrant students and their parents exposes the administration’s gutter racist attitude towards the community.

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France: Election Rivals Agree: Defend Bosses, Attack Workers

PARIS, April 6 — Hunger, poverty and unemployment are the lot of millions in France — and the upcoming presidential elections won’t change a damn thing.

According to an April 3 opinion poll, Socialist candidate François Hollande will beat right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round of presidential elections on May 6 by a 54% to 46% vote.

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Spain General Strike: Protesters Attack Storm Trooper Cops

BARCELONA, SPAIN, March 31 — This week, thousands of workers and youth squared off against a mass of cops in the center of this city during a nation-wide general strike protesting austerity measures that is impoverishing millions. The general unemployment rate is 25%; for youth it’s 50%.

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Afghan War A Grab for Oil and Mineral Wealth

Imperialist nations — notably the U.S., Russia, China, and members of the European Union — need two things when they go to war: a public pretext and a real reason.  The one is never the same as the other.  When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan shortly after 9/11, the pretext was to chase Al Qaeda out of the country and defeat the U.S.-created Taliban, who were shielding the formerly U.S.-backed Bin Laden and his followers.

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Catching Fire: Depicts Oppression but Avoids Solution

Second part of the Hunger Games book review

In Catching Fire, the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins expands her criticism of capitalism and hints at more collective solutions to the problems faced by workers. 

As our heroine, Katniss

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Hunger Games Spawns Racist Reaction

The Hunger Games film not only has been wildly popular but has also caused a racial controversy, possibly related to the casting of a small number of black actors. The main character, Katniss, is described as having dark hair and grey eyes, but was played by blonde, blue-eyed Jennifer Lawrence with her hair dyed brown. However, the few black characters in the movie have been attacked in racist comments that surfaced

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MAY DAY 2012

March with PLP

April 28:

Chicago and New York

May 1:

LA: Olympic and Broad at 12 PM

Oakland: Fruitvale Bart Station at 3 PM